Pope Francis passes away at 88

Pope Francis has died the Vatican said on Monday The Pope passed away on Easter Monday April 21 2025 at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vaticanrsquos Casa Santa Marta according to a statement from the VaticanAt 945 am on Monday Cardinal Kevin Farrell Camerlengo of the Apostolic Chamber announced ldquoDearest brothers and sisters with deep sorrow I must announce the death of our Holy Father Francis At 735 this morning The Bishop of Rome Francis returned to the Fatherrsquos house His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His church He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness courage and universal love especially for the poorest and most marginalized With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love of God One and TriunerdquoFaithful walk to St Peterrsquos SquareFrancis made his final public appearance a day earlier on Easter Sunday though he had delegated the celebration of the Easter Mass to another cardinal He blessed a crowd of faithful from the loggia of St Peterrsquos Basilica ldquoBrothers and sisters Happy Easterrdquo he saidFrancis who suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome on February 14 2025 for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia He spent 38 days there the longest hospitalisation of his papacyWhorsquoll be next popeSome contenders areCardinal Pietro ParolinThe 70yearold Italian is the highestranking cardinal in the conclaveCardinal Matteo ZuppiHe is said to have been close to Pope Francis The 69yearold Italian is seen as a spiritual successor to FrancisPope Francis waves to the crowd as he arrives for the weekly general audience at St Peterrsquos square in The Vatican File PicsAFPCardinal Peter TurksonFrom Ghana he could make history if elected as the first Black PopeCardinal Robert SarahThe 79yearold a Guinean is a favourite among the traditionalist faction of the ChurchCardinal Peter ErdoumlThe 72yearold Hungarian cardinal is conservativeCardinal Luis Antonio TagleThe 67yearold is the seventh Filipino to become a cardinalAngelo ScolaHe is a longstanding contender and was in the race in 2013From humble origins to world leaderPope Francis was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on December 17 1936 to Italian immigrants in Buenos Aires Argentinamdashthe eldest of five children He was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1969 and led the religious order in Argentina during the countryrsquos murderous dictatorship from 197683 He became archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and elevated to cardinal in 2001 by St John Paul II He was elected the 266th pope on March 13 2013 on the fifth ballotPope Francis with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Vatican City on October 30 2021 File PicPTIFrancisrsquo firstsgtgt The first pope from the Americasgtgt The first from the Jesuit order to be elected popegtgt The first to take the name of Francis after St Francis of Assisigtgt The first to visit Iraq meeting its top Shiite Muslim cleric in 2021Francisrsquo famous quoteslsquoBrothers and sisters good eveningrsquoFrancisrsquo first words delivered from the loggia of St Peterrsquos Basilica after his election as pontiff on March 13 2013lsquoWho am I to judgersquoFrancis responding to a question about a purportedly gay priestlsquoThe meeting is the messagersquoFrancis upon meeting Sheikh Ahmed alTayeb the Grand Imam of AlAzhalsquoBeing homosexual is not a crimersquoFrancis in an interview with The Associated PressRites and rituals that followThe death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals well before the conclave to elect his successor begins They involve the certification of death and public display of his body for the faithful to pay their respects followed by the funeral and burial Pope Francis revised various rites last year simplifying the funeral rituals to emphasize his role as a mere bishop and allowing for burial outside the Vatican in keeping with his wishes But the core elements remainThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params